Fight over a name

Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times

Supporters of giving the name Little Saigon to a section of San Jose demonstrate outside the City Council chambers March 4. Members of the Vietnamese community sparred with some city officials over whether to call it the Saigon Business District or Little Saigon.

Supporters of giving the name Little Saigon to a section of San Jose demonstrate outside the City Council chambers March 4. Members of the Vietnamese community sparred with some city officials over whether to call it the Saigon Business District or Little Saigon. (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

Supporters of giving a section of San Jose the name Little Saigon march outside the City Council chambers. Emotions boiled over at a March 4 council meeting when members of the Vietnamese community sparred with some city officials over naming a square mile of Vietnamese businesses south of downtown. Many in the large audience wanted the area to be called Little Saigon but Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen favored calling it the Saigon Business District. Just a few in the audience agreed with Reed and Nguyen.